TRIBUTE
Tony Webbstock
A warrior for the small business guy and investor has left us
BY CIARAN RYAN
O
ur dear friend Tony Webbstock passed away in May , the result of complications from a decades-long battle with diabetes and – one has to say – inadequate medicine back in the day when diabetes wasn ’ t as well understood as it is today . Tony was a warrior with a Christian heart , a genius lawyer who put himself at the service of the people vs the banks .
I could hear it in his voice a few weeks back when I last spoke to him . He sounded strained and weak . He succumbed after a long fight with his ailing body . He remained his usual chirpy self , defiant and rebellious to the end . His wonderful sense of humour never left him . Nor was there a hint of victimhood in his voice .
Tony had been an attorney all his professional life , a devout Christian and champion of the small guy . He never once acted for the banks . With his genius and knowledge of the law , he could have made himself a rich man had he put himself at the service of the banks , but he refused this path . As an attorney , he would only ever act against the banks . Many clients he took on without charge . Whether you were from the townships or suburbs , as long as you were being hounded by the banks , Tony was always available on his phone for a consultation .
In an industry crowded with money grubbers and vultures , Tony stood above them all for his principle and his heart . He could not turn away from the misery and suffering that the banks had inflicted upon ordinary people . After the financial crisis of 2008 , it became obvious to Tony that the banks were engaged in the biggest crime of the century . Having spread their confetti money across the land in the years leading up to the crisis , they then started foreclosing and vacuuming up of assets of their customers .
It is a well-known fact that South African law firms will seldom , if ever , act for clients against the banks . This is how they have captured the justice system . Tony was a rare exception , and he was brilliant at it . He knew every nook and cranny of banking and consumer law , and surrounded himself with a team that was without equal , including his son Matt , Stephen May and Leonard Benjamin . In case after case , they schooled the banks in the law that they were abusing .
Tony had fascinating insights into modern banking , the accumulation of four decades of legal battles with the banks . He knew their every trick : failing to properly serve summons on their customers to frustrate any attempt to put up a defence ; illegally loading bank and legal charges onto mortgage bonds ; arriving in court with recreated documents , claiming the originals were destroyed in a fire ; litigating clients into bankruptcy , the final indignity for those who spent their lives in toil and struggle ; bringing claims before the High Court when they should be argued in the Magistrates Courts where legal costs are a fraction of the higher court ; failure to attach loan agreements to summonses ; unlawful selling of credit and other insurance products and then failing to honour these policies ; self-dealing by the banks when they repossess properties for a pittance and then on-sell them to insiders …. The list goes on . Tony had seen it all .
He was unique in that he was not motivated by money . His Christian heart had no place for this . From Timothy in the Bible : “ The love of money is the root of all evil …” Tony lived this with conviction and passion . In a broken and troubled world , Tony made a difference . Thousands of people were rescued from ruin by his intervention . He was mostly gentle and kind . I say mostly . When confronted with that miserable breed , debt col-
“
In peace there ’ s nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility ; But when the blast of war blows in our ears , Then imitate the action of the tiger : Stiffen the sinews , conjure up the blood , Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage : Then lend the eye a terrible aspect ;
“ lectors , he summoned up the tiger and disguised his fair nature with rage , as Shakespeare implores us in Henry V :
To hear Tony dispense with debt collectors was a beauty to behold . In battle , this was a guy you wanted in your corner .
The good news is that Tony ’ s crusade for a fairer world is in good hands . His son Matt , Stephen and Leonard will continue the path that Tony forged . Tony leaves us , his integrity and soul intact , a rare thing to say about any lawyer .
For more information to protect yourself against unscrupulous money lenders email mwebsstock @ debtadmin . co . za
Go to acts . co . za for more info
60 JUNE / JULY 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine